Scientists who studied 70 dogs for two years find there's a scientific method to the position they settle on to do their business

Receive the latest local updates in your inbox

When your dog decides to relieve itself, it’s a good bet that they’ll be positioned along Earth’s magnetic field, a new study says.

A team of biologists spent two years measuring the direction of the body axis in 70 dogs as they pooped (that happened a total of 1,893 times) and urinated (a staggering 5,582 times). Dog breeds included in the study were beagles, dachshunds, fox terriers, and others.

Unbelievable Animals: Python Swallows BBQ Tongs

What they found is that dogs prefer to potty with their body aligned the north-south axis, as pictured (photo credit: Frontiers in Zoology), proving for the first time that magnetic sensitivity exists in canines, according to the study in the science journal Frontiers in Zoology.